Plug type pipe closure



Aug. 29, 1944. 'Y J. w. GALLOP ,3

PLUG TYPE PIPE CLOSURE Filed May 21, 1945 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 29, 1944 PLUG TYPE PIPE CLOSURE Joseph W. Gallop, East St. Louis, 111., assignor to Key Company, East St. Louis, III., a corporatio of Missouri Application May 21, 1943, Serial No. 487,847

11 Claims.

My invention relates to a plug type pipe closure and more particularly to a closure adapted for use in connection with refinery fittings or other apparatus subjected to great variations in temperature during use. ing return bends, terminal fittings, and corner fittings, are commonly provided with openings to giv access to the tubes to which they are applied. Such openings are sealed by a removable plug closure which must be of such construction as to maintain a perfectly tight joint under great variations of temperature and pressure. Heretofore such plug closures have usually been secured in position by a screw-threaded holding member engaging with corresponding threads formed either on the fitting itself or on an auxiliary member or dog engaging the fitting.

The principal objection to such screw-threaded fittings under present conditions is twofold. First, screw stock necessary for the manufacture of the threaded parts is critical material which is highly desirable to conserve. Second, the necessary taps and chasers employed in the manufacture of such parts are difficult to obtain and also expensive. In similar devices, such as pipe couplings, cooperating inclined planes have been employed instead of screw threads. In all such cases, so far as I am aware, one plane, or set of coordinate planes, has been formed on the interior of the casing or surrounding part of the device. It is difficult to form such planes both because of their location on an interior surface and, particularly in refinery fittings, because of the size and shape of such casing.

One of the main objects of my invention is to provide a closure of the type described in which the cooperating inclined planes for seating the plug will be located, not on the casing, but on enclosed partssuch, for example, as a rotary retaining member and the plug itself.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for permitting a rocking movement of one of the parts to compensate for inaccuracies in construction and. so insure uniform pressure on the plug. a

Other objects of my invention are to improve the details of construction of the device relating particularly to the proper relative positioning of the various parts and to means for unseating the plug.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows one form of my inventionembodied in a terminal fitting, Figure l is a vertical section; Figure 2 is a top plan view; Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is Such fittings, includa side elevation, on a slightly enlarged scale, of the holding member; Figure 5 is a section similar to Figure 1 but showing the casing only; Figure 6 is a side elevation of the plug member; and Figure 7 isa section of the lower end of the plug showing a modification.

The device consists essentially of three parts, a body, a plug member, and a holding member. In the drawing the body or casing I is a terminal refinery fitting having a tapered vent opening 2 giving access to the tube to which it may be attached in any suitable manner, as by tube serrations 3. It is provided with a flanged outlet 4. Formed on the upper end of the body are three inwardly projecting bearing lugs 5 equidistantly spaced around its circumference. The lower faces 6 of these lugs are shaped to conform to the surface of a hypothetical sphere having its center C in the axis of the opening 2, as shown in Figure 5. In' one side of the body is a sight opening 1, preferably rectangular in form, the lower edge of which is approximately flush with the top of the vent opening. At each side of the sight opening is a locating lug 8 for the plug member. At the end of the vent opening is a machined counterbore 9 which provides a gauge surface for locating the faces 6 of the bearing lugs, which faces must be accurately positioned.

The lower end of the plug member is tapered to accurately fit the vent opening 2. Extending upwardly from the center of the upper face of the plug I0 is a stud I l at opposite sides of which are inclined planes [2 sloping in reverse directions. The plug is also provided with a laterally projecting lip l3 adapted to be received between the locating lugs 8 (Figur 3). At one side, the lip is provided with a projection providing an abutting face M for contact with the adjacent lug 8. This face may be machined to accurately locate the plug in the casing in order to secure the proper positioning of the inclined planes 12. When the device is used in a terminal fitting, the bottom of the plug is plain. If, however, the device is applied to a return bend, the bottom may be provided with the usual skirt [5, as shown in Figure'l, said skirt having a curved face [6 for deflecting the fluid when passing from one tube to another. When the skirt is employed, its proper position is also insured by the contact of face 14 with thelocating lug.

The body ll of the holding member is circular in form and somewhat smaller in diameter than the inner periphery of lugs 5. On its circumference are three retaining lugs l8 equidistantly spaced and of such width as to pass between the bearing lugs 5. The upper faces I 9 of lugs I8 conform to a sphere of the same radius as that of the under faces 6 of lugs 5 and cooperate with said faces. On the lower face of body I! is a pair of reversely sloped inclined planes 20 adapted to cooperate with the inclined planes I2 on the plug member to exert pressure upon and firmly seat the latter when the body is rotated in the proper direction. With planes I2 and 20 inclined as shown in the drawing, this direction will be clockwise when looking down on the device, as indicated by the arrow (Figure 2). R- tation may be imparted to the holding member by applying a wrench to a hexagonal head 2! on the upper face of body I'I. Formed in the center of the holding member is an oversize opening 22 for the passage of stem II of the plug. This stem projects above head 2| and is threaded to receive nut 23. Thus the stem serves, not only as means for removing the plug but also as a locking device to prevent accidental rotation of the holding member after the plug has been forced into the tapered opening 2.

In assembling the device the plug is placed in tapered opening 2 with its lip I3 between lugs 8 on the body. The lug is now given a slight clockwise rotation to bring face I4 against the adjacent lug 8 and thus insure the exact location of the plug. The holding member is lowered into the body, its lugs I8 passing between hearing lugs 5 on the casing. It will be noted that it is possible to place the holding member in the casing in three different positions. The proper one of these positions may. be determined by looking through the sight opening I to observe the relation of the inclined planes 20 on the bottom of the holding member to inclined plane I2 on the top of the plug. A wrench is now applied to the hexagonal head 2I and the holding member is given a clockwise rotation through an angle of approximately 60 degrees. This rotary motion of the holding member causes inclined planes 20 to act upon inclined planes I2 and thus force the plug firmly into its seat. Any slight imperfection in the alignment of the parts is compensated for by the coacting spherical surfaces 6 and I 9 which permit slight rocking movement of the holding member on point C forming the center of curvature of the spherical surfaces. This will insure the equalizing of pressure on all parts of the plug. After the holding member has been tightened, nut 23 is applied to its stem and tightened to prevent its accidental release. The sight opening I not only aids in properly locating the holding member but also gives access to lip I3 so that the plug may be loosened from its seat by the application of a pry bar between the lower face of the lip and the lower edge of the opening. Having fully described by invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pattent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, the com bination with a casing having a. pipe receiving portion and a vent opening in alignment therewith, of a plug for said vent opening, a holding member engageable with the casing by rotary movement, and cam means operated by movement of the holding member and independent of its engagement with the casing for applying pressure to seat the plug.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug for said opening, a holding member having lugs engageable with the lugs on the easing by rotary movement, and cam means operated by movement of the holding member independent of the engagement of its lugs With the lugs on the casing for applying pressure to seat the plug.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a, tapered vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug seated in said opening, a holding member having lugs engaging with the lugs on the casing, the engaging faces of said lugs being spherical in form to permit relative rocking of the casing and holding member, and an inclined plane on the holding member operating by rotary movement of said member to seat the plug. I t l I |if| 4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug for said opening, a holding member having lugs engageable with the lugs on the casing by rotary movement, an inclined plane on the holding member, and a cooperating inclined plane on the plug, said planes acting through rotation of the holding member to seat the plug;

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs and a tapered Vent opening, of a plug seated in said opening, a member rotatable relatively to the plug and provided with retaining lugs, said bearing and retaining lugs having cooperating spherical faces permitting rocking of the member to compensate for faulty alignment of the parts, and cam means operable by rotation of the member for seating the plug.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs and a tapered vent opening, of a plug seated in said opening and having a locating lip, a sight opening in the casing giving access to said lip, locating lugs on the casing adjacent said opening and cooperating with the lip to locate the plug, a holding mem ber rotatable relatively to the plug and provided with retaining lugs coacting with the bearing lugs, and inclined planes carried by said member whereby its rotation will impart pressure to the plug to seat the latter.

'7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a plurality of inwardlyprojecting bearing lugs and a tapered vent opening, of a plug seated in said opening, a member rotatable relatively to the plug and provided with retaining lugs, said bearing and retaining lugs having cooperating spherical faces permitting rocking of the member to compensate for faulty alignment of the parts, 'a counterbore surrounding the vent opening and providing a gauge surface for locating the spherical surface of the bearing lugs, and cam means operated by rotation of the members for seating the plug.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a tapered vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug seated in said opening,.said plug having on its upper face a stem and an inclined plane, a member rotatable relatively to the plug and having retaining lugs cooperating with said bearing lugs, said member having on its lower face an inclined plane cooperating with the first named inclined plane to force the plug into its seat, said member having an opening for the passage of the stem, and locking means for the member carried by the stem. 7

9. In a device of they class described, the combination with a casing having a tapered vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug seated in said opening, said plug having on its upper face a stem and an inclined plane, a member rotatable relatively to the plug and having retaining lugs cooperating with said bearing lugs, a lip on said plug cooperating with a locating lug on the casing to position the plug relative to the casing, a sight opening in the casing giving access to the lip to loosen the plug in its seat, cam means cooperating between the member and plug for forcing the latter into its seat by rotation of the member, and locking means for the member carried by the stem.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing having a tapered vent opening and a plurality of inwardly projecting bearing lugs, of a plug seated in said opening, said plug having on its upper face a stem and an inclined plane, a member rotatable relatively to the plug and having retaining lugs cooperating with said bearing lugs, the meeting faces of said lugs lying in a spherical plane having its center approximately in the axis of the vent opening, said member having on its lower face an inclined plane A cooperating with the first named inclined plane to force the plug into its seat, a lip on the plug cooperating with a locating lug on the casing to position the plug relative to the casing, a sight opening in the casing giving access to the lip to loosen the plug in its seat, and a nut threaded on the stem for locking the member against rotation.

11. In a device of the class described, the comcam means comprising cooperating inclined planes each extending through less than a complete circumference, one of which planes is carried on the under part of the holding member, said cam means being operated to seat the plug in the vent by rotary movement of the holding member, said cam action being independent of the engagement of the holding member with the casing.

JOSEPH W. GALLOP. 

